Breakdown of Jos olisin korjannut katon eilen, vesi ei olisi tullut sisään.
minä
I
olla
to be
vesi
the water
tulla
to come
eilen
yesterday
jos
if
ei
not
katto
the roof
korjata
to repair
sisään
inside
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Questions & Answers about Jos olisin korjannut katon eilen, vesi ei olisi tullut sisään.
What type of conditional is used in Jos olisin korjannut katon eilen, vesi ei olisi tullut sisään and how is it formed in Finnish?
It’s a past counterfactual (third) conditional. Finnish expresses both clauses with the conditional perfect, built from the conditional form of olla (olisi) + the perfect participle of the main verb:
– jos olisin korjannut (if I had repaired)
– vesi ei olisi tullut (the water wouldn’t have come)
Why is olisin korjannut used in the ‘if’-clause instead of the simple past korjasin?
Because you’re talking about a hypothetical action in the past that didn’t happen. To show that something would have occurred under different circumstances, Finnish uses olisi + perfect participle for unreal past events.
How do you form the perfect participle korjannut from korjata?
Take the verb stem korja- and add the suffix -nut (matching vowel harmony), giving korjannut.
What case is katon, and why is it used here?
It’s the genitive (often called accusative in this context). With telic transitive verbs like korjata, when the object is viewed as a completed whole, Finnish marks it with genitive/accusative.
How is the negative conditional perfect ei olisi tullut formed?
By placing ei (the negative particle) before the conditional form of olla (olisi) and then the perfect participle of tulla (tullut). Together: ei olisi tullut.
What is sisään, and what role does it play in the sentence?
Sisään is an adverb meaning “inside” or “inwards.” It indicates the direction of the verb tulla, so tulla sisään means “to come inside.”
Can you move eilen to a different position in the sentence?
Yes. Time adverbs like eilen are flexible. All of these are grammatically correct:
– Jos olisin korjannut katon eilen…
– Jos eilen olisin korjannut katon…
– Jos olisin eilen korjannut katon…
Word-order choices may affect emphasis, but the basic meaning remains the same.
Could you use a different verb instead of tulla to express “leak” here?
Yes. You could say vesi ei olisi vuotanut sisään using vuotaa (“to leak”). Both expressions are natural; tulla sisään focuses on the water entering, while vuotaa focuses on the leaking action.